Pages in this set

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Matching Hypothesis
Based on two
hypotheses
ii) Couples who are matched
i) or equally desirable will
have long happy
If someone is more socially relationships compared
desirable i.e. physical to couples who are
attractiveness, social standing + mismatched
intelligence the more desirable
they will expect a date or marriage
partner…

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But Murstein's study lacks
mundane realism because
they are lab/field studies and
don't show matching by
similarity in the real world.
However the following studies
using real couples do provide
support for the matching
High reliability
hypothesis.

Matching in the Real World
Studies consistently find
Matching effect when
committed, engaged…

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Evaluations its not the whole picture
Complex matching
Hatfield & Sprecher (2009)
Lack of attractiveness compensated for
by money, status, personality
Gender differences
Takeuchi (2006)
Physical attractiveness valued more by
men than women as older man often has
higher status, money, power

Role of third party
Xiaohe & Whyte (1990)…

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Strengths of Matching Hypothesis

Research not gender specific
Aronson et al (1966) found that physical attractiveness was still
a priority when seeking a partner. This suggests the findings of
the matching hypothesis are universal and apply to any gender.

Silverman's research
high in ecological validity
By using a natural environment…

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Weaknesses of the Matching Hypothesis
Experimenter Bias
Weakness of Silverman's research is experimenter bias. The
researcher could have been influenced by the 'halo effect'
because they saw both partners together. Therefore we should
treat the results with caution.

Reductionist
Physical attraction is an oversimplification as a sole explanation
because it…

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Free Will v Determinism
Humans have a sense of free will
in that they can choose between
several courses of action .
However the social approach as all
other approaches in psychology
aims to identify the causes of
behaviour or what determines our
behaviour. In this sense all
approaches in…

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Homework

Celebrity Couples Matching Exercise

or

Using one side of A4 summarise The Law
of Attraction and The Matching Hypothesis
Provide two studies in support, two studies
against if possible and evaluate the methods
used. You could also comment on some issues
and debates.